Four months ago we asked you to help us kickstart our renewable fuels and energy efficiency project in Uganda. And you did! We collected almost $6,500 for our project!
This message is our progress report to you, our donors, our investors.
Uganda
Postcard from Rubaare: A man, a problem, a solution.
In researching the fuel briquette solutions, we discovered there were multiple options available and no decision tree on how to choose between them. The Charcoal Project team spent the first six months researching and talking to developers, implementers, manufacturers and others with experience in the field.
Our research eventually led us to Isaac Owor, founder of EnviroCoal, a fuel-briquette manufacturer based in the capital, Kampala.
Wood Energy in Africa: the next gold rush?
Recent news out of Uganda about the displacement of tens of thousands of people from their land to make way for a large-scale biofuel plantations raises question about governmental oversight and corporate social responsibility on the part of of foreign investors.
It is all the more urgent that African nations, with the help of appropriate international agencies, begin putting place the regulatory framework that will lead to the responsible and sustainable exploitation of wood energy resources in the context of low-carbon economic growth and high-value export generation.
VIDEO: How the woodfuel shortage is affecting East African schools & community
This short YouTube video is based on an interview I did in June with Henry Twinemasiko, the director of the REF schools in Rubaare, Uganda, (visit our project page) who appealed to us six months ago for help in bringing energy efficiency and renewable fuels to his school district. Henry is a tremendously inspiring and committed man and together we have a plan to cut the schools woodfuel consumption (and the associated costs), and generate revenue for the schools by converting the region’s agricultural waste into fuel briquettes for the school and the community. We have also began with our Continue reading
African economies leaving money on the table with current charcoal policies.
Revelations from Africa:
- Africa must formally recognize its huge charcoal sector.
- Solid biomass fuels could very well be the continents key to producing. homegrown sustainable renewable fuels for domestic and productive energy.
- The negative impact of sky-rocketing food prices on education.
- Energy efficiency and renewables can mitigate the pain of rising food costs.